In Too Deep
by xPhoenix Blackx
Summary: When Draco Malfoy took the Dark Mark, he hadn't realised what he was getting himself in for. Now the Dark Lord has given him an impossible mission, can he escape him? And what of Harry Potter? How does he fit into all this? SLASH! DM/HP! Pre-HBP!
1. Prelude

**Warnings:** This story will contain M/M pairings, if this isn't your thing then I suggest that you turn back now! There will also be mild violence. I will put a warning at the start of any chapter with violence. Foul language will also be at play!

**Disclaimer:** All characters/places/names are the property of J.K. Rowling, Warner Brothers. I am making no money from this! Just having fun!

**A/N: **Hi, thanks for taking a moment to look at my fic! This is currently a WIP! The Prelude is rather short, but I promise the chapters are longer! I'm aiming to update this weekly, but the first chapter should be up by the end of today! I hope you enjoy and please R+R!

**Prelude.**

A high, cruel laugh filled a dark cavernous room; the only light was from several wand tips that bathed a circle of robed figures in a cold light. The figures in the circle wore hoods and grotesque masks, aside from one. The tallest of the figures in the circle had red, silted eyes and where there should have been a nose was nothing but two slits, like that of a snake. The man's head was completely devoid of hair and his skin was a pale as death.

"You will bow before Lord Voldemort," the man hissed, his voice cold.

Before Voldemort, a masked figure was on his knees, who was shaking with the effort to keep himself upright.

"Ah, but you refuse?" Voldemort breathed, his voice as deadly as venom.

Voldemort flicked his wand and the figure on the floor was slammed face first to the black, marble floor. Voldemort's heavy boot collided with the back of the figures head. A sickening crunch echoed throughout the room and the figure on the floor moaned in pain. A murmur of laughter rippled through the circle, although one figure remained silent, his back rigid. Those cruel, red eyes flicked to the straight-backed figure.

"My fellow Death Eaters," Voldemort began, "It seems that Lucius is displeased with this treatment of his son!"

"No, my Lord..." Lucius stuttered, "I...I am displeased with his disobedience. I raised him to serve you, my Lord, but he..." Voldemort raised his hand to silence Lucius.

"Stop you snivelling, Lucius," Voldemort hissed, "If you are displeased, then by all means, show our young Master Malfoy, here, your displeasure!"

Lucius hesitated for a moment before turning his wand upon his own son.

"_Crucio!"_ Lucius breathed.

The figure on the floor went rigid, his back arched as his toes curled, but no sound emitted from him. That high, cruel laugh filled the magnificent room again.

"My, my, Lucius, you have taught him well, not one single scream!"

Lucius lifted the curse. He bowed his head as he rejoined the circle, not looking at his son or his master.

The figure on the floor lay still for a moment, drawing in ragged breaths, before getting shakily to his knees. He ripped the mask off to reveal the bloodied face of Draco Malfoy. Draco's silver eyes glared up at the Dark Lord, as a lock of platinum blonde hair grazed his high cheekbones. Voldemort's face broke into a cruel smile as he bent down to grab Draco's face in his long, skeletal fingers. He dragged him roughly up, pulling him close to his face.

"Master Malfoy, you will wear the dark mark with pride! You took it willingly, now you will obey my orders!" Voldemort hissed, his red eyes boring into Draco's silver ones.

"Yes, my Lord," Draco spat, as blood dribbled into his mouth from his broken nose.

Voldemort threw Draco's slight figure to the floor with ease and turned to survey his Death Eaters.

"Target practice," Voldemort breathed, then disapparated with a pop.

Every wand in the circle was pointed at Draco. It was a long time before he was finally picked off the cold, marble floor by Lucius and placed in his own bed.


	2. Chapter One

**Warnings:** This story will contain M/M pairings, if this isn't your thing then I suggest that you turn back now! There will also be mild violence. I will put a warning at the start of any chapter with violence. Foul language will also be at play!

**Disclaimer:** All characters/places/names are the property of J.K. Rowling, Warner Brothers. I am making no money from this! Just having fun!

**A/N: **So, here's a long chapter, as promised! All the chapters will be about this size :) I think that this story will be from Harry's POV, I think it adds to the suspense and mystery of Draco! Anyway, on with the fic! I hope you enjoy and please R+R! Update will be soon!

**Chapter One.**

Harry Potter awoke with a start. He was panting for breath and a bead of sweat slid down his forehead. Harry's hand immediately jumped to the lightning bolt scar that was burning his forehead. He clamped his bright, green eyes shut in an attempt to remember the dream that had caused him to awake in such a manner, but it was useless. He tried to remember the figure upon the floor who had been tortured. He had this nagging feeling that he knew him, but whoever it was he couldn't quite pinpoint. He sighed and opened his eyes, feeling around for his glasses. He pushed them on and sat up. A dull light was filtering through a gap in his curtains, filling the smallest room of Number Four Privet Drive with sun. Harry glanced at the clock on his dresser and groaned, 6am. He rolled onto his back, glaring at the ceiling for a moment, before he realised, with a jolt, that it was September the 1st. He was going back to Hogwarts today! Harry jumped from his bed and headed straight for the shower.

It had been a long, difficult summer for Harry. He had been trying to deal with the death of his godfather, Sirius Black for the entirety of the holidays, alone. He knew that he'd have to face these demons, but he hadn't expected to do it alone. Ron and the rest of the Weasley's had been sent to their Great Aunt Muriel's for the summer, whilst Molly and Arthur Weasley did work for the Order of the Phoenix. Hermione was touring Europe with her parents. He had received many letters from his two best friends, reassuring him, comforting him, but it wasn't the same as having them by his side. Shutting the water off, Harry hastily towel dried his hair, dressed and brushed his teeth. He slipped back into his room, silently, not wanting to wake his relatives, the Dursleys.

As he returned, he noticed that his snowy owl, Hedwig, was back from her nightly hunt. She hooted softly at him before settling down on her perch, her head tucked neatly under her wing, ready for a long sleep. Harry crossed the room to her cage and gave her feathers an affectionate stroke, before closing the cage door, ensuring it was locked.

By the time Harry had ensured that everything he needed for school was packed, he could hear his Aunt and Uncle stirring. He sighed and dragged his heavy trunk and Hedwig's cage, carefully down the stairs, then proceeded to make breakfast for his Aunt, Uncle and cousin. Even though his relative loathed him, he had finally gotten Uncle Vernon to agree to take him to Kings Cross station. Harry assumed that the only reason he had agreed was because they couldn't wait to get rid of him for another year. This was the longest summer he had spent with the Dursleys since he had started Hogwarts.

At 10:30am, Uncle Vernon dumped Harry's trunk and Hedwig's cage, unceremoniously, onto the pavement outside Kings Cross. He sped off without so much as a backward glance or goodbye to his nephew. Harry sighed and dragged his trunk onto a trolley and pushed it toward Platform 9 and ¾. He kept an eye out for Ron and Hermione as he went, but didn't see them. He ran at the apparently solid barrier between Platforms 9 and 10, but instead of crashing into it, he simply went through it, appearing onto Platform 9 and ¾.

The many hoots of owls could be heard over the gentle thrum of voices as Harry pushed his cart through the crowd. The scarlet steam engine stood belching out puffs of smoke as Harry pulled his trunk and Hedwig's cage onto the train, before dumping them into an empty compartment. He jumped back off the train, in search of Ron and Hermione. Before long, he spotted a bunch of redheads. His face broke into a grin as he made his way over to them.

"Harry!" A voice squealed, before he was pulled into a tight hug, surrounded by a lot of bushy, brown hair. He pulled away, smiling at one of his best friends, Hermione Granger.

"Hey 'Mione!" Harry said, his grin lopsided.

"Alright, mate!" His other best friend, Ron Weasley, said, clapping him on the back.

"Oh Harry, I bet your summer was simply awful..." Hermione began, before she was interrupted by Mrs. Weasley, bustling over and capturing him in a very tight hug, which made him blush slightly.

"Harry, dear!" She gushed, "I'm so sorry we couldn't have you this summer, but after the mass breakout of Azkaban, the order has been working us flat out. We couldn't burden Muriel with any more, she already wasn't too happy about Ron and the others going! But, oh Harry, aren't you thin? Once you get to Hogwarts, make sure you eat as much as you can, and if you need anything dear, we are only an owl away!"

"Mum, let him breathe!" Ron interjected, rolling his eyes behind his Mother's back.

"Don't worry Mrs. Weasley, I've been fine! I know you've all had stuff on and been really busy, I don't expect..."

"I know you don't, dear, but we love having you. You're as much my son as Ron is!" Mrs. Weasley told him, her voice soft and motherly.

Harry felt a lump in his throat, as a warm feeling erupted in his chest. He blushed a little and mumbled his thanks, making sure to avoid Ron's eye. The whistle sounded, and Harry jumped, the lump in his throat vanishing, but the warm feeling in his chest still there. He felt a lot more cheerful, as Mrs. Weasley ushered himself, Ron, Hermione and Ginny onto the train, capturing them all in a final hug before they got on. Harry led them to the compartment and they each hung out of the window to wave goodbye to Mrs. Weasley. Once the train swung into motion, Ginny announced that she was going to find her friends. She gave Harry a brief smile as she left.

"Where's your Dad, Ron?" Harry asked, as the three of them sat down.

"Order stuff," Ron said, in an undertone, "He won't say what though."

Harry nodded in understanding. He wasn't about to pry or second guess what the Order was up to. The last time he had done that, he had almost gotten his friends killed and succeeded in getting his Godfather killed. He felt that lump in his throat again, but this time for different reasons, and tried very hard to swallow it.

"Harry," Hermione's said, in a soft voice, her hand resting on his, "How are you doing?"

Harry forced a smile and turned his green eyes to her, "I'm better now we're going back."

Hermione glanced at Ron, who nodded and she gave his hand a slight squeeze.

"If you need to talk, Ron and I are both here for you." Hermione said, quietly.

"Thanks," Harry said, very quietly, looking into his lap. He could tell that they had both rehearsed his little exchange, but he appreciated it nevertheless.

Hermione kept her eyes on him for a moment, before smiling sadly and withdrawing her hand from his. For the next half an hour, Harry merely stared out of the window, listening to Ron and Hermione discuss their summers. They seemed to understand that Harry didn't feel much like talking. He was quite content to just listen. The sound of their voices soothed him more than they could ever know.

A hand on Harry's shoulder, made him jump slightly. He looked up into Ron's pale blue eyes and smiled.

"Mate, we've got to go do our prefect duties, but we'll come back soon." Ron told him, biting his lip a little.

"Yeah...yeah, sure! Don't worry, I'll be fine!" Harry said, his voice too cheerful, "Take as long as you need."

The pair of them nodded and left. Harry sighed and turned back to gazing out of the window. He had gotten quite used to being on his own. Ron and Hermione were prefects; they had duties to attend to. He had been selfish to think they would hang around him constantly once they were back. Harry lent his forehead against the cool window. He barely noticed the countryside outside becoming wilder as the sky darkened. His head was too full of thoughts of Sirius, the prophecy and the Department of Mysteries. He was that deep in thought that he didn't notice the compartment door slide open and closed, as someone sat on the seat opposite him. It took a further fifteen minutes before the person spoke that Harry was even aware that he was not alone.

"I could've killed you ten times over by now, Potter. And I thought you were meant to be the chosen one!" A soft voice, sneered.

"Fuck, Malfoy!" Harry snapped, "What're you playing at?" Harry had jumped that much at the sound of Draco's voice that he had banged his forehead against the window. Harry rubbed at it irritably.

"Constant vigilance," Malfoy said, a small smirk flitting across his face.

"Malfoy, do yourself a favour and fuck off, would you?" Harry hissed, "I'm not in the mood for your bullshit!"

Draco's features softened and he held his hands up.

"Look Potter, I don't exactly want to put up with you either, but I needed somewhere quiet...my housemates can grow rather tiresome. This was the only compartment with space. I only wished to alert you to my presence."

Harry eyed his suspiciously for a moment, but found he had no energy to argue.

"Whatever, Malfoy, just don't talk to me." Harry said, his voice tired. He turned back to gaze out of the window again.

Draco frowned, he had been expecting more of a fight than that, and he certainly didn't like the dead tone of Harry's voice. He sighed a little and pulled a thick, leather bound book out of his bag. Upon the front, in peeling, silver letters, was the title '_The Darke Side of the Moone_'. He opened the book and settled down to reading.

An hour or two later, Harry found himself gazing at Draco Malfoy. His eyes followed the smooth lines of those high cheekbones, covered in skin as pale and soft as moonlight. His nose was perfectly straight and those eyes were exquisite, liquid silver. Harry noticed that Draco had let his platinum blonde hair grow slightly longer, and it now fell in soft waves to his jaw line, which Harry noticed was no longer pointed, but chiselled to perfection. There was a small crease between his eyes as he concentrated on the book he was reading. Harry's eyes wandered down, landing on pink, rose bud lips. Draco's cupid bow was slightly more feminine than it should be, but Harry thought that it complemented Draco's elegant features. Harry's eyes fell to the book Draco held in his slender hands and frowned. He had never read that book before. His eyes flicked back up to Draco's face, but he found that they stopped at those full, pink lips. Harry had never noticed how good looking Draco had become now that they had grown up. He then became distinctly aware that he was outright staring at Draco and thinking about how good looking he was. Harry almost gagged, but before he could tear his eyes away from Draco's lips, they started moving.

"You know Potter, some people find staring rude. I, on the other hand, am flattered that you can't take your eyes off me." Draco said, his lips forming their usual smirk.

Harry blushed scarlet and said, hotly, "I was not staring, Malfoy!"

Draco's eyes lifted from the book and landed on the Gryffindor, "Could've fooled me!" Draco smirked.

Harry narrowed his eyes at him and snapped, "What is that you're reading anyway? Lessons on dark magic, I suppose?"

Draco raised an elegant eyebrow, and laughed softly, "Contrary to popular belief Potter, I don't spend the entirety of my time learning dark magic. It's actually an old muggle book concerning the myths and legends of vampires and werewolves. It's quite fascinating, really. Muggles back in the Eighteenth Century were definitely more in tune to the Wizarding World, than they are today."

Harry stared at the blonde in shock for a moment, before simply saying, "Oh..."

Draco smirked at him slightly, but it wasn't his usual, malicious smirk, it was softer somehow.

"Never judge a book by it's cover, Potter," Draco said, softly, his silver eyes not leaving the brunette in front of him.

"Sorry, Malfoy," Harry mumbled, his eyes dropping to his hands as he fidgeted with them.

Draco watched Harry for a moment, he opened his mouth to say something, but before he could the compartment door banged open, causing him to jump and glare up at the intruder.

"What the hell are you doing here, Malfoy?" Ron snapped, looking furious. His ears were starting to turn red.

Draco stood quickly, tucking the book neatly under his arm and scooping his bag up with his other hand.

"I was just leaving, Weasel," Draco sneered, and went to leave, but found his path blocked by Ron, who hadn't moved.

"Weasley," Draco began, his voice soft and dangerous. However, he was interrupted by Harry.

"Just let him by, Ron," Harry said, quietly.

Ron stared at his best friend in disbelief, but stood aside, a small frown forming around his lips. The redness didn't fade from his ears, but continued to grow across his face.

Draco turned to Harry and said, "Thanks Potter." He nodded to Harry, before slipping past Ron. As he headed down the train, a small smirk formed on his lips.

"Harry, what the hell?" Ron asked, as he slid the compartment door shut forcefully. His face was now the colour of his hair. He slumped down, opposite Harry, waiting for an explanation.

"He wasn't bothering me, Ron," Harry sighed, "He just wanted somewhere quiet to read."

"That's what he told you, did he? He had to be up to something! What with you getting his Father chucked into Azka..." Ron stopped abruptly, at the look on Harry's face.

"I'm quite aware of what happened before summer, Ron!" Harry hissed, images of Sirius flashing before his eyes.

"Sorry, mate," Ron said, apologetically, "But, come on...it is Malfoy...he just had to be sniffing around for something."

Harry sighed a little and turned his eyes away from Ron.

"I don't think he was," He shrugged.

Ron frowned and shook his head, but before he could say anything, Harry asked, "Where's Hermione?"

"She's still doing her prefect duties, but I got bored, so I thought I'd sneak off," Ron said.

Harry nodded, and began firing questions at Ron about his summer, and quidditch in order to distract Ron from Draco. It worked.

The afternoon flashed by, and as Harry and Ron changed into their Hogwarts robes, Harry could feel the tension he had felt all summer ebb away. He was back where he belonged, with Ron and Hermione, and soon he would be home.

As the train slowed, Hermione joined them, already changed. They joined the mass of students clambering off of the train, all heading towards the carriages that were pulled by the threstrals.

"All righ', you three?" Hagrid's voice boomed out over the sea of students.

The trio gave Hagrid a quick wave, before dodging through the crowd. Harry's heart gave a sudden pang as he faced a threstral that was attached to the carriage they were headed for, pawing the ground impatiently. It's bright, colourless eyes glowed faintly in the darkness, and little puffs of steam emitted from it's nostrils in the cold, night air. Harry averted his eyes and quickly got into the carriage, staring down at his hands as he sat. He could feel tears stinging the back of his eyes, but he forced them away. Hermione sat beside him, and her hand found his, wordlessly. Ron pulled the door closed, quickly, so no-one else could join them. They sat in silence as the carriages began their procession towards Hogwarts from Hogsmeade Station. Harry stared at his and Hermione's joined hands. He was so grateful for his two best friends, who had stuck by him through everything, but his thoughts darkened as they landed on Sirius. How could he have been so stupid? His thoughtless actions had torn away the only person who had ever resembled some form of Father figure in his life. How could he have endangered his friends? His friends who would follow him anywhere, who would blindly follow without thinking about the dangers. How could he have been so selfish? So desperate to play the hero!

"Harry," Hermione said, softly, "Welcome home..."

Harry looked up at her, and then followed her gaze as she looked out of the carriage window. Out of the darkness rose Hogwarts, all of the windows lit up like shining beacons, welcoming back. Harry's mood couldn't help but lighten a little as they reached the stone steps. He was home!

Harry, Ron and Hermione made their way up the stone steps, into the brightly lit Entrance Hall. Harry stayed close to his two best friends as they were jostled by the crowd into the Great Hall, which as usual was decorated splendidly for the Welcoming feast. Harry glanced around, catching sight of the familiar blonde head. He thought back to their meeting on the train, it had been almost amicable. Harry frowned, that was certainly something that had never happened before. He noticed that Draco was barely talking to the rest of Slytherin, as he took his place next to Blaise Zabini. Draco's silver eyes flicked up and locked with Harry's for a moment. Harry felt the blush rise in his cheeks, and he quickly turned away, sitting down next to Ron and Seamus at the Gryffindor table.

"Good summer, Harry?" Seamus asked, cheerfully in his thick Irish accent.

"Yeah, yours?" Harry muttered, glancing at the sandy-haired boy.

"It was alright, me Mam was busy for the most part," Seamus said, then smiled, turning to talk to Dean Thomas who was on his other side. Harry knew that Seamus' Mum had been inducted into the Order over the summer. Harry assumed that she was trying to make up for the doubt she had felt about Harry and Dumbledore the previous year.

Once everyone was seated, a hush came over the Great Hall. Professor McGonagall entered, carrying the Sorting Hat on a stool, followed by a line of terrified looking first years. Everyone turned their attention to the Sorting Hat, and a rip near the brim opened wide and sang it's yearly song. This one was pretty much along the same line as last years; Hogwarts must unite within, if it's going to conquer forces outside. Once the first years were sorted, Dumbledore rose. He smiled widely at the students in front of him, his arms open.

"Welcome back to another glorious year at Hogwarts," Dumbledore's voice rang throughout the Hall, "Please, tuck in!"

Harry looked down and couldn't help the grin that spread across his face, for the tables were now covered with a delicious array of food. Harry, who had been almost starved for the entire summer, loaded his plate. Ron grinned over at him and they both tucked into their meals. Once Harry had had two helpings of steak and kidney pie, and some treacle tart did he sit back and pat his full stomach. He felt pleasantly sleepy, and longed for his four poster bed that was somewhere above him.

Dumbledore rose again, once all the food had left the golden plates that littered the four House tables.

"Just a quick note before you all make your way to your wonderfully warm beds. First years must note that the Forbidden Forest is forbidden to all, and some of the older years would do well to remember this too," Dumbledore's sparkling blue eyes landed on Harry, Ron and Hermione for the briefest of moments, "Our caretaker, Mr. Filch would also like me to remind you that magic is forbidden in the corridors, and an extensive list of other items that are forbidden is nailed to his door, should anybody be curious enough to take a look. I would also like everyone to welcome back, Professor Lupin, who will be returning as Defence Against the Dark Arts."

Harry's eyes quickly darted to the staff table, but he couldn't see Lupin anywhere, but he did notice that there was a space missing between Professor Flitwick and Professor Sprout.

"Unfortunately," Dumbledore began, as whispers broke out between the students, "He could not make the feast this evening due to an illness, but he will be ready and eager to teach tomorrow."

Harry felt his face cracking into the biggest grin that he could remember since Sirius' death. Lupin would be here, Lupin, who was not only Sirius' best friend, but his Father's too. He felt a lot better knowing that Lupin would be close by. He turned to Ron and Hermione, whose grins were identical to his own.

"Now, off to bed with you" Dumbledore finished.

There was a great deal of noise as the benches groaned against the floor as the students rose. Chatter filled the Hall as everyone began making their way to their common rooms.

"Harry, Lupin is back! How wonderful!" Hermione said, her eyes bright.

"I know! It's great...I can't believe he's really going to be here!" Harry gushed. It would be nice to have someone else who knew how he felt about the loss of Sirius. Hermione and Ron were obviously upset, but they hadn't been as close to Sirius as Harry and Lupin had been.

"Of course he isn't here tonight though. Last night was the full moon, I expect he's recovering." Hermione said, talking very quickly as the three of them headed to the Gryffindor common room, "And, I'm sure everyone knows about his condition, but after what happened at the Ministry last summer, no-one will question Dumbledore again."

Harry felt the pang in his heart again as Hermione brushed over the events in the Ministry, but he managed to push them away. He knew he mustn't wallow, and with the news of Lupin coming back he knew that it would be easier.

Soon enough, Harry and Ron were climbing the circular staircase to their dormitory. Harry smiled at Seamus, Dean and Neville as they entered. They all exchanged tired conversations as they readied themselves for bed, and then crawled into them. Harry drew the hangings around his bed and flopped back against the soft, feather pillows. He was asleep within a matter of minutes.

"Double potions, first thing!" Ron groaned around a mouthful of bacon.

Harry sighed and let his eyes drop to his own timetable. Double Potions with the Slytherins, followed by Double Transfiguration, again with the Slytherins. Harry rather enjoyed Transfiguration, but not when teamed with the Slytherins, especially after Double Potions.

"Slytherins all day," Harry moaned, "But we do have Double Defence tomorrow morning with the Hufflepuffs, which isn't so bad, and then Double Charms with the Ravenclaws, no Slytherins all day!" He felt a small pang of guilt as he wouldn't be carrying on Care of Magical Creatures, but he hoped Hagrid would understand as he wanted to become an Auror. Thankfully, he had also dropped Divination.

"Come on, otherwise we'll be late!" Hermione said, swinging her bag onto her back, "You never know, Snape may have changed his tune since the events of the Ministry!"

Hermione set off at a brisk pace, and the two boys stumbled in her wake.

"Yeah right, it's probably just doubled his loathing for me," Harry mumbled to Ron, who nodded his head vigorously, still chewing on the last of his bacon as they entered the torch lit corridors that led to the Dungeons.

The trio took their usual seats at the back of the classroom as the rest of the class filed in. Harry noticed that most students had decided to take potions at NEWT level, however Lavender, Neville, Crabbe and Goyle had picked different subjects. Harry's eyes followed the back of Draco's head as he took his seat at the front. The class erupted into chatter, until the usual tell-tale banging of the door announced Snape's arrival. He looked just as sour, greasy and hook-nosed as ever when he took his place at the front. His dark eyes scanned the room, resting on Harry for the moment. Snape's eyes darkened slightly, and Harry knew that he hadn't changed his tune in the slightest.

"Welcome to Advanced Potions, I did not expect some of you to be back," Snape uttered, his voice deadly calm, his eyes landing on Harry again, "Be that as it may, I expect some of you will not see this class until the end. I expect a lot from my NEWT students, and anyone who falls behind will be asked to leave" Snape's dark eyes roamed over the students, and an unpleasant smile broke out across his face, "Our assignments this year will cause us to work in pairs. I have assigned each one."

Harry looked at Ron and Hermione; he would be highly surprised if either of them were partnered together. As Snape paired off the students, it was evident that it would be one Gryffindor and one Slytherin making each pair.

"Weasley and Zabini," Snape said, silkily, "Granger and Parkinson, and finally Potter and Malfoy."

The students did not even make an attempt to move. Harry knew who his partner would be the second he had realised how Snape was pairing each couple. He stuffed his belongings into his bag and swung it onto his back. He pushed his chair back and stood up. He felt the eyes of the rest of the class on his back as he strode up to Draco's desk. He glared down at the dark haired boy next to Draco.

"Zabini," Harry began, his voice rough, as chocolate brown eyes met his, "I believe your partner is waiting for you."

Blaise hesitated for a moment, before standing proudly and collecting his things together neatly. He brushed past Harry and went to the empty seat beside Ron. The rest of the class took Harry's lead, as Harry dumped his stuff next to Draco. He felt Snape's eyes on him, but he wouldn't look up. He knew Snape had expected Harry to cause some sort of scene, some sort of resistance to being partnered with a Death Eaters son, but Harry had refused to rise to the bait. He had finally gotten one up on Snape. As he sat down, he felt another pair of eyes on him and turned to face his partner. Silver met green for a moment, before Draco flashed him his usual smirk.

"Very noble, Potter," Draco said, but to Harry's surprise, his voice held no malice, only jest.

"Well, someone had to be the bigger person, and I knew it wasn't going to be you," Harry fired back, a small smirk forming on his own lips.

"Ouch," Draco said in mock defence, and his lips almost quirked into something resembling a smile.

Harry didn't have time to analyse this strange exchange between himself and Draco, as Draco had jumped up and began to collect ingredients they needed. Harry frowned for a moment, and glanced up at the board. Snape had flicked his wand at the board and the instructions on how to brew '_The Draught of Living Death'_ were scrawled across the board. Harry watched Draco for a moment, before he lit the cauldron. He guessed that he could've gotten a worse partner, at least Draco was actually good at potions, and for some strange reason they had begun to tolerate each other. This made class slightly more bearable. Harry found that he and Draco made quite a good team. Draco had such a good precision with potions and a delicate hand, and Harry was able to take good direction and had a keen eye for measurements. Their potion was starting to clear nicely, as a silvery mist started to rise from the surface. Snape was prowling through each row, inspecting potions, making scathing comments to the Gryffindors and praising the Slytherins. He loomed over Harry and Draco's potion, his eyebrow rising slightly.

"Well Potter, I see you have let Master Malfoy take the lead," Snape hissed, loud enough for everyone to hear.

The class quietened, waiting for Harry's response. Harry opened his mouth to defend himself, but found that Draco was quicker, "Actually, Professor, Potter stopped me from making a few mistakes. He worked on this as much I."

Harry's head whipped around to look at Draco, frowning a little. Okay, so he knew they had had some civil conversations, but Draco Malfoy was actually defending him. In Potions. To Snape. Snape stared down at his star pupil, a strange look on his face. He pursed his lips and passed on to comment on another's potion. Harry looked at Draco, his eyebrows raised.

"Thanks Malfoy," Harry said, shock evident in his voice.

Draco turned his silver eyes to Harry, his lips forming the smallest of smiles.

"I'm not all bad, you know?" Draco said, his voice soft, his eyes never leaving Harry's.

Harry found his own mouth curving into a smile to match Draco's. He kept the eye contact, feeling a shift in their new found tolerance of each other.

"I guess not. Why the sudden change of heart?" Harry breathed.

Draco's eyes darkened slightly and he broke the eye contact. He turned away from Harry and began adding the last ingredient expertly to the potion. He lowered the heat and watched the potion simmer. Harry frowned, had he said something wrong?

"Malfoy?" Harry asked, unsure why Draco had suddenly closed off from him.

"Just leave it, Potter." Draco hissed, his usual sneer plastered back on his face.

Harry narrowed his eyes at Draco and sighed, irritably. He glared down at their potion as it turned clear. Why was he so bothered that Draco had turned back into his usual arrogant self? He decided that he wasn't, and bottled their potion. He took the vial up to Snape's desk, turned on one foot and stormed back to the table. He shoved his things back into a his bag roughly, as Snape dismissed the class, instructing the class that they should arrange a meeting with their partner in order to prepare for the next assignment. Harry strode to the door, and didn't even bother to wait for Ron and Hermione. He was half way through a cottage pie by the time Ron and Hermione joined him.

"Harry, what's wrong?" Hermione asked, frowning down at him as she helped herself to roast chicken and boiled potatoes.

"Probably that git giving him a hard time! You know, especially after Harry named his Dad a Death Eater!" Ron said, piling his plate with mashed potatoes, green beans, lamb shoulder and lashings of gravy.

"Yeah, something like that," Harry mumbled, darkly.

"Don't let ferret boy get to you, Harry," Ron said, fiercely, gravy dribbling down his chin.

"Ron!" Hermione scolded, sounding an awful lot like Mrs. Weasley, "Don't talk with your mouth full!"

"Sorry, 'Ermione!" Ron mumbled, his voice muffled by mashed potato.

"Ronald Weasley!" Hermione exclaimed, her lip curling in disgust.

Harry found himself smiling at his two best friends. Why had he let that little git get to him? So they had exchanged a few civil words, they had even joked with each other, but what was Harry expecting, for Draco to announce that he had denounced the Dark Lord and wanted to be on his side? Fat chance that would ever happen and Harry wasn't even sure he wanted that git on their side anyway. He glanced over at the Slytherin table, his eyes searching for Draco. He wasn't there. He decided that he didn't care and he wouldn't be making the effort to be civil to Draco again.

Harry spent the rest of lunch listening to Ron and Hermione bicker with each other. He found himself laughing along with them and even at them at times. As they made their way to Transfiguration, Harry found that his mood had lightened considerably. He took his seat near the front, sitting between Ron and Hermione. He didn't even look up as the Slytherins made their way noisily to the back of the classroom. Harry noticed that almost everyone seemed to have taken Transfiguration this year. He supposed that most jobs would require advanced knowledge of this.

Professor McGonagall stood patiently at the front of the classroom, waiting for the class to settle; they didn't take long. She surveyed the students over her glasses before transforming into the tabby cat, which had rings around her eyes. With a faint pop, she transformed back to her human form. The Gryffindors gave a cheer, but the Slytherins rolled their eyes, as if bored with this display.

"Animagi, as I'm sure you are aware are wizards who can transform into an animal. This is a very complicated branch of Transfiguration, and I don't expect everyone to be able to do it. However, as an introduction to Advanced Transfiguration, we will be studying those who are Animagi and the theory behind it. I should expect that at least a one of you will achieve an Animagus form by the end of your NEWTs. Those that excel on this particular project will be able to study it until they have achieved their form, however those who do not progress, will move onto the second assignment of your NEWT level." McGonagall explained, her voice brisk.

Harry stared at her for a long moment, unable to process the information. They would be studying Animagi, maybe even becoming one. Images of Sirius, his Father and even Wormtail flooded his mind. He felt the dark cloud that had evaporated over the course of the day return. He didn't want to think about Sirius, he didn't want to study a branch of magic that he linked so closely with his dead Godfather, or his dead Father or the treacherous coward who handed his parents over for slaughter. The room spun, and he faintly felt Hermione's hand grip his own.

"Harry," She breathed, "Harry..."

Harry glanced over at her and forced a smile.

"It's okay," He mumbled, casting his eyes down at his lap, determined to stop the room from spinning. He took a deep breath, and when he looked up again, he realised that McGonagall had written some notes on the board and others were copying them down. He grabbed his quill and forced his shaking hand to be steady. He scrawled what was written on the board, not taking in a word of it.

Soon, everyone had a possum in front of them; McGonagall had instructed that they were to turn them into a raccoon. In order to master the basics of becoming an Animagus, they must first learn how to change the genetic make-up of one animal to another. In doing so, they would find it easier to transfigure themselves. Harry barely concentrated throughout the entire lesson, and by the end Hermione was the only one who had managed to change her possum into a raccoon. Ron's possum had stripes and a bushy tail, and Harry's raccoon still had large bat-like ears and a stubby tail. Hermione kept casting Harry side-long glances as they made their way to the Great Hall for dinner.

Hermione laid her hand on Harry's as they sat and whispered, "Harry, are you sure you're okay? You were awfully quiet."

Harry considered not answering her, but he remembered what he had felt like the last time he shut out of best friends.

"It's just hard to think about," Harry sighed, "What with my Father and Si...Sirius being Animagi, which gets me thinking of Wormtail too...it's just...I don't know...difficult..."

"We know Harry, but you mustn't let what happened to Sirius hold you back. Becoming an Animagi could be something of value to you...especially with the proph..."

"Ron," Hermione warned him. She glanced around, making sure that no-one had overheard their conversation. No-one else knew about the prophecy.

Harry nodded and swallowed hard, only helping himself to some pumpkin juice. He didn't feel like eating. He knew Ron was right, but it still hurt.

"I think I'll just go to the common room," Harry said, as he stood.

"We'll come too," Hermione said, quickly. Ron, who was only half way through his dinner, looked up in horror.

"No, no...honestly, I'm fine...you guys finish eating. I'll see you in the common room. I just...I just need some time to myself." Harry said, flashing a smile at Ron, who started shovelling food back into his mouth.

"If you're sure?" Hermione asked, uncertainly.

"Yeah, see you later!" Harry said, forcing another smile onto his face. He quickly exited the hall, unaware of the silver eyes that followed him. He was half way to Gryffindor Tower, when he heard someone behind him. He turned around quickly and saw Draco Malfoy hurrying to a halt behind him. He narrowed his eyes at the Slytherin.

"What, Malfoy?" Harry snapped, folding his arms across his chest.

Draco's eyes narrowed a little, but he tried to keep his expression neutral.

"We need to arrange a meeting, Potter. Or did you miss the homework that Snape gave us?" Draco asked, keeping his voice calm.

"Whatever, Malfoy," Harry hissed, "When and where?"

"Tomorrow, 7pm in the library." Draco said, still forcing a calm voice.

"Fine." Harry said, shortly and wheeled around, walking away from him.

"Potter, I..." Draco began, but he suddenly gave a small hiss and clutched his left arm. His eyes stayed on the retreating Gryffindors back, but he soon turned and fled to Snape's office.

Harry had heard Draco call his name, but he sped up, determined not to let the Slytherin antagonise him. He walked as quickly as he could to the common room, slamming himself down onto an armchair in a dark corner. He glared at nothing in particular, unsure as to why he was so upset. He convinced himself that it was just because of the grief he felt for Sirius, but he had a niggling feeling that a certain blonde Slytherin may have something to do with his mood. However, he refused to acknowledge it. By the time Ron and Hermione had made their way to the common room, Harry had slipped into a stupor.

"Mate...Harry...hello? Earth to Harry Potter!" Ron said, waving his hands in front of Harry, madly.

Harry blinked slowly and looked up into the concerned faces of his two best friends.

"Oh, hey...sorry, did you say something?" Harry asked, a dazed look on his face.

Hermione frowned, but Ron merely laughed.

"Yeah, Hermione was trying to ask you if you were okay. I swear if I had a galleon every time she has asked you in the past two days, I'd be rich!" Ron said, grinning at them both.

Hermione huffed, indignantly and snapped, "Ron, I'm just concerned for Harry...you know what he's been through..."

Ron rolled his eyes and said, "He doesn't need to be mollycoddled Hermione...Harry knows that we're here for him, but he doesn't want to be bombarded with questions constantly, do you mate?"

Harry smiled at Ron, and said, "It is nice to know you care, but honestly...I'm fine."

"But Harry..." Hermione began.

"But nothing Hermione, I really do appreciate your concern, but like Ron said, I need some breathing space sometimes. I'm not going to deny that what's happened is playing on my mind, but there's nothing anyone can do..."

Hermione watched him for a moment, and then sighed as if defeated.

"Okay...sorry..." Hermione murmured, "But if you do need to talk then..."

"I'll come straight to you, no matter what time of the day, even if I have to claw my way up the stairs to the girls dorm," Harry finished her sentence, with a wink.

Hermione rolled her eyes and sat down, a smile forming around her lips. She pulled out a large volume on Animagus and disappeared behind it for the remainder of the evening. Harry and Ron looked at each other, and then pulled out a chess board. Homework could wait until tomorrow.

"_You have failed at your first attempts with the Boy Who Lived, my little snake!" Voldemort's hissed through a dank room._

_This time, the circle of Death Eaters was much smaller, just the Dark Lord's hand-picked favourites. The same small Death Eater knelt before his Lord, shivering with the effort to stay upright._

"_No, my Lord," His voice rasped, "I haven't...the plan has only just begun...please...I need more time!" _

_Voldemort's cruel laugh, bounced around the small room, making the sound even more terrible. The floor was wet with mildew, and heavy chains littered the walls. The dungeons of Malfoy Manner always were one of the Dark Lord's favourite places to punish his Death Eaters; the cold and darkness always seemed to help add to a Death Eater's misery._

"_Time? Time is something we do not have, young one." Voldemort snapped, "You will gain his trust and bring him to me..."_

"_But, he hates me!" The figure on the floor moaned, "He doesn't trust me."_

"_Make him, you are a Slytherin, are you not? Cunning is what sets you apart from the rest." Voldemort hissed, dragging the figure up by the front of his robes. The Death Eaters knees almost buckled from underneath him. Voldemort drew the figure close to his snake-like face and breathed, "Use any means possible. Do not fail me!" He dropped the Death Eater on the floor and muttered, "Crucio!" The figure went rigid on the floor, his back arched impossibly high. _

_Voldemort flicked his wand again and the figure slammed into the far wall. The chains snaked around him and held him in place, spread eagle pressed against the cold, stone wall. The rest of the Death Eaters turned their wands onto the figure chained to the wall, and began firing different spells. Soon, the figure on the wall's robes had vanished, and bloody welts, cuts and bruises littered the pristine, pale white skin. The figure's masked face slumped onto his chest, as he fell into unconsciousness, his breathing ragged. A sickening pool of blood had gathered beneath the figure as the Dark Lord and the Death Eaters left the room. Only one other remained. The man ripped off his mask, to reveal the hook-nosed face of Severus Snape. He sighed and pointed his wand at the figure on the wall. The bleeding stopped, and as Snape gathered the figure into his arms, he covered him back over with his robe. Snape made his way to the fireplace, and disappeared._

Harry awoke with a start, his scar blinding him with pain as sweat poured down his forehead. He slowed his hurried breathing and forced his eyes open.


	3. Chapter Two

**Warning: **This story will contain M/M pairings, if this isn't your thing then I suggest you turn back now. There will be mild violence and foul language at play. And maybe a bit of angst for good measure!

**Disclaimer: **All the characters/names/places/anything in the Potterverse belongs to J.K Rowling and Warner Bros. I'm making no money from this, just having fun!

**A/N: **Thanks to everyone who has read this fic so far! Please R+R though, it really makes my day…I may even give you a cookie! I know people are reading, I can see in the stats! So, I still plan to try and update weekly-two weekly! Thanks to my first reviewer ForbiddenForest193, I'm glad you're enjoying it so far and this chapter is dedicated to you!

**Chapter Two.**

Harry lay panting on his bed for a few moments, waiting for the pain in his forehead to subside. He wiped the sweat from his face and turned onto his side; a small moan escaping his lips. He fumbled around for his glasses and pushed them onto his face. He opened his eyes slowly; the dull light of dawn stinging them. As the pain in his head faded and his breathing slowed, he sighed. Someone inside Hogwarts was trying to lure him into a trap. He had gathered that much from the dream. But who? He hadn't seen the face of the Death Eater who had been tortured, but he was sure it was the same one from his dream the night before. He screwed his eyes up in concentration, trying to remember who it was, but he had no luck. He sighed angrily and threw the duvet off of himself. He ripped his hangings open and staggered to the bathroom.

Half an hour later, a dressed Harry Potter sat in the common room beside the window. He gazed outside as the sun rose. It was a beautiful autumn day, but all he could think about was who Voldemort had ordered to lure him into a trap. He chewed on his lip thoughtfully, but no one came to mind. None of the teachers would ever turn him over, well Snape maybe, but Dumbledore trusts him. Harry sighed angrily again, who was it? It couldn't be a student, the Dark Lord would never entrust such an important task to a minor.

A slow trickle of students began to descend into the common room, and in no time at all Hermione had made her way down the stairs. She headed over to him and smiled.

"Sleep well, Harry?" Hermione asked, her eyes kind, but searching.

Harry forced a smile onto his face; he knew she cared, but if he mentioned the dream then he wouldn't hear the end of it.

"Yeah, great. I'm glad to be back," Harry said, grinning at her.

"Where's Ron?" Hermione asked, her eyes fixed on his.

"Still getting ready…I woke up early," Harry told her.

"Oh, okay, Harry," Hermione began, "Harry, you d…"

"I'm starving! Let's go to breakfast!" Ron, who had just arrived, said, interrupting her. His hair was still a little rumpled and his eyes were sleepy.

Harry was grateful for the interruption. He jumped up and grabbed his bag.

"Me too, let's go!" Harry said, quickly.

Hermione made to protest, but clearly thought better of it. The three of them made their way to the Great Hall. As they entered the Great Hall, Harry's eyes flicked over to the staff table and felt a jolt in his stomach. Lupin was sitting next to Flitwick. He looked shabbier than ever, and the lines under his eyes were more pronounced. Harry noticed the sorrow in his eyes, but upon seeing Harry, he smiled, giving him a wave. Harry waved back, his face breaking into a grin.

"Lupin is here," Harry told the others, "And we have him first thing!"

Harry felt his spirits rising, as they took their seats at the Gryffindor table. Not only was Lupin back, they had him straight after breakfast. Harry ladled bacon, sausages, eggs and beans onto his plate, and even had seconds. His appetite seemed to have found him again as the happiness of seeing Lupin eased the tension he had felt in his stomach all summer.

"I see you have your appetite back, Harry," Hermione said, with a small smile.

"Well, you know…the food here is great," Harry grinned, taking a swallow of his pumpkin juice.

Ron barely looked up from his food, but managed to muffle out, "All food is great!"

Harry felt himself laughing as Hermione joined in. He hoped today would be a better day than yesterday, and felt it would be. They weren't with the Slytherins today at all. But, he felt the grin slide from his face and glanced up at the Slytherin table. He had a meeting with Draco Malfoy tonight for their potions assignment. His eyes scanned the table for the blonde, but he couldn't spot him. Harry shrugged and assumed he'd eaten and already left. It was probably considered barbaric to have seconds by a Slytherin anyway. He shook his head, and pushed the feeling of dread at their meeting tonight away, determined to enjoy today.

Harry, Ron and Hermione took the seats at the very front of the class and waited patiently for Lupin. Soon enough, Lupin entered the room, smiling at the class in front of him. He stood at the front and picked up the parchment on the desk.

"Good morning class," Lupin began, his voice warm, "As I have met you all before, I feel that we should just get on with the class instead of making introductions. I will however say that I am delighted to be back!" He glanced down at the parchment in his hands, "Here I have a summary of what you covered last year from your last defence teacher."

Harry grinned as Lupin gave a disgusted look at the parchment and tossed it into the rubbish bin.

"As your teacher last year was somewhat inept in teaching you anything practical, I am here to start teaching you counter-jinxes, protective spells and how to detect dark magic. Over the course of your NEWT years, I will focus on different aspects of defence. Wands out!"

There was a lot of noise and rummaging in the room as everyone pulled out their wands, chattering happily. After being starved of being able to learn defensive magic last year, the students were excited to be doing it again.

"Now, I know some of you will know how to use this spell, having been taught it by Harry last year, but I feel that everyone should be able to disarm someone if there should ever be a need." Lupin said, smiling at the students again, "The incantation is _'Expelliarmus', _everyone repeat after me."

An hour later, wands were flying out of everyone's hands. Harry noticed that Neville had improved since last year, and he was using his wand with a bit more confidence. Harry was perched on his desk, watching the others. He had disarmed Ron and Hermione at the same time, and felt that he didn't need to practice this spell any longer.

"Harry," A soft voice said, next to him.

Harry turned and smiled as his eyes met Lupin's.

"Hey," Harry said, quietly, searching Lupin's face for any trace of sadness.

"How are you holding up?" Lupin asked, and Harry could detect the slight break in his voice.

"Better now you're here, to be honest." Harry whispered, avoiding looking at the rest of the class, "I don't feel quite so…alone, you know?"

Lupin nodded, and went to grasp Harry's hand. He, however, thought better of it.

"I know Harry, but I'm here whenever you need me. James and Sirius would've wanted us to stick together." Lupin uttered.

"I know," Harry murmured, then smiled, "I'm glad you're back."

"Me too, Harry, me too…" Lupin said, as he rose, giving his shoulder a squeeze and then returned to the front of the class, calling them to order.

"As most of you have mastered that, I want you to now cast a protective spell against the spell. If cast properly, this spell will shield you from most curses. The incantation is _'Protego'. _Everyone got that? Good, off you go." Lupin said, smiling at them all again.

Harry stood up and joined Ron and Hermione. They all took it in turns at disarming each other, whilst they rebounded each others spells with the Protego charm.

"Let's try two on one," Hermione suggested, and she spun her wand around at Harry. Ron nodded and Harry stood back a little, giving them enough room.

As the two raised their wands, Harry was faster.

"_PROTEGO!" _Harry yelled, flicking his wand at them. He felt a breeze and then the whole class had been thrown backwards. There was a lot of crashing and yelps, and then some laughter. Harry bit his lip and looked around at the chaos. There were his classmates, all strewn across the room at odd angles, Neville had become lodged between two cupboards, and half of the desks were on the floor.

"Well done, Harry!" Lupin exclaimed, as he stood, straightening his shabby robes, "That's one of the most powerful shielding charms I think I've seen in a while." He grinned lopsidedly as Harry blushed furiously.

"S…sorry, I…I didn't mean to do that…I guess I just…" Harry mumbled, as everyone scrambled to their feet. Dean pulled Neville from between the cupboards. Harry glanced around at the class, and saw the look of admiration on all of their faces.

"Ten points to Gryffindor," Lupin smirked, as he flicked his own wand. The furniture, books and parchment that had been blown around the room, flew steadily back to their rightful places, "I think we'll leave it there today. I'd like a two foot essay on the usefulness of both defensive spells."

The class filed out, chattering excitedly about the lesson. Harry kept his head down, still feeling the blush on his cheeks. He wasn't sure how he had managed that. Through his embarrassment, he felt pleased with himself, but he wasn't sure if that had been luck or not. Harry glanced over at Lupin, who had been watching him carefully.

"Well done, Harry," Lupin said, softly, as the last of the students left the room, "You'd have given James a run for his money with that one."

Harry grinned, and said, "Thanks, Professor."

"Remember Harry, if you need to talk…"

"Come on Harry, we'll be late for lunch!" Ron said, popping his head back into the room.

"Yeah, sorry Ron, I'm coming," Harry told him, and turned to Lupin, "I'll come see you soon."

Harry followed Ron back out of the room. He had contemplated telling Lupin about the dream he'd had that morning, but he hadn't known how to begin. He didn't want Lupin thinking that he was weak and scared of a dream, but he also knew that Lupin would want to know about it. The thing was, Harry wasn't sure what was real and what wasn't anymore. He knew that Voldemort had used their connection to manipulate him before, and this could be just another 'dream' planted in his head by Voldemort. Harry hated having a connection to that mad-man. He felt like he was turning mad himself sometimes. He slowly felt the happiness drain from him as he made his way to the Great Hall. He slumped down in his seat next to Ron, and barely ate again. He could feel Hermione's worried glances on him, but she didn't say anything. He rested his chin on his hand, gazing over at the Slytherin table. His eyes searched for the blonde, without realising what he was doing. Harry frowned, Draco wasn't there, again.

"Harry…" Ron's voices boomed in the back of his mind, "Harry!"

"Wha…ummm, yeah?" Harry asked, looking up at Ron who was now standing.

"Time for charms," Ron said, frowning.

"S…sorry, yeah…in a world of my own for a moment there," Harry mumbled, stumbling to get up. He grabbed his bag and added, "Let's go!"

Harry followed his two best friends out of the Hall, glancing back at the Slytherin table again. He wasn't sure why he was so concerned that Draco hadn't shown up to breakfast or lunch, but he was. He watched his feet all the way to Charms, and sat down at his usual seat. He barely heard Flitwick talking about how to charm a snuffbox to make it sing. Harry knew that the blonde never missed a meal, he had an image to upkeep. He chewed on his lip, thoughtfully.

By the end of the lesson, Harry was very frustrated with himself. He hadn't concentrated at all, resulting in his snuffbox imitating the swear words that had emitted from his mouth during the lesson and shouting them at the top of it's strangely, husky voice. He tried to tell himself that he was only bothered about Draco's disappearance because they were meant to be meeting tonight for their potions assignment. He couldn't fail Potions this year. Yes, that was it! He was afraid that Draco was going to jeopardise his NEWT in Potions, therefore jeopardising his future career as an Auror. He perked up a little at this revelation and was soon piling his plate high in the Great Hall. Hermione seemed happy that he was eating again.

"Mate, do you want to grab our brooms and get a bit of practice in before curfew tonight?" Ron asked, cheerily stuffing his face with beef hotpot.

"I can't," Harry groaned, "I'm meeting Malfoy for our Potions assignment at 7."

"Ahhh, mate, just fuck it off!" Ron said, "He's probably just going to give you a hard time anyway. Come on, let's go flying!"

Harry almost gave in to the temptation, but shook his head.

"I best not miss it, I don't want to give him an excuse to go to Snape about me," Harry said, and glanced over at the Slytherin table again.

"He's not there, Harry," Hermione said, quietly.

Harry turned to her, and she had a strange look on her face. Her soft, brown eyes seemed to be searching his for something, but Harry looked away from her.

"Well, in that case…you can come!" Ron said, grinning.

Harry bit his lip and nodded, "I guess so…I mean, if he's ill or something…I wouldn't want to catch it."

"Great!" Ron said, thumping the table.

Harry grinned and said, "Well, shall we go get our brooms then?"

"Yeah!" Ron jumped up, followed by Harry.

Hermione rolled her eyes and muttered something that vaguely sounded like 'Boys' under her breath and announced that she was going to the library. She left them at the third floor and headed toward the library. Harry and Ron made their way up to Gryffindor Tower. Harry felt his spirits lifting again, at least he wasn't going to be dealing with Draco tonight.

They rounded a corner and Harry found himself walking into something hard. He stumbled backwards and fell to the floor. He looked up into the face of Draco Malfoy.

"Watch it, Potter," Draco sneered, but Harry noticed there was a strange edge to his voice. He watched Draco's hand snake around his middle, and saw the dark circles under his eyes. He frowned, maybe Draco was ill.

"How about you watch it, Malfoy?" Ron spat, offering Harry a hand.

Harry took it and allowed Ron to pull him up.

"Potter, I'd appreciate it if you kept your Weasel on a lead," Draco snapped, glaring at the red head.

"Shut up, Malfoy," Harry hissed, his eyes narrowing. He didn't understand the Slytherin in front of him. One moment they were at least being civil, the next he was being an insufferable prick again. Harry grabbed the back of Ron's robes and pulled him back, "Come on Ron, he's not worth it."

Ron made to protest, but Harry pulled him around Draco and began walking away.

"Don't forget our date, Potter," Draco called after them. He smirked to himself and walked away, slower than usual.

Harry huffed angrily and glared at nothing in particular.

"Great," Harry spat, venomously, "I see he's feeling bloody better."

"Just don't go," Ron said, his ears still red from their encounter with Draco.

"I have to, you saw the foul mood he's in…he'll go running to Snape before we could blink if I stand him up."

At five to seven, Harry found himself stomping down to the library. He quickly scanned the tables, noticing they were all full. He sighed angrily and stalked deeper into the aisles of books, searching for a free table. In a dimly lit corner, he found a small table tucked away. He threw himself down into the seat and slammed his Potions text book onto the table, causing a puff of dust to swirl in the dull light.

"Trying to get me alone, Potter?" The voice of Draco sneered.

Harry glared up at the blonde and snapped, "Let's just get this over with, shall we?"

Draco made his way to the table and Harry noticed that he was moving rather slowly and stiffly. Harry noticed the wince as he sat on the hard, wooden chair and frowned.

"What's wrong with you?" Harry asked, the anger fading from his voice.

Angry, silver eyes met green ones.

"It's not really any of your business, Potter!"

"It is if you've got some bug that I might catch!"

"You can't catch this, Potter," Draco sneered, his eyes spitting silver fire.

"Well, what is it then?" Harry snapped, his eyes following Draco's slow movements as he took his own Potions text out and set it delicately on the table.

"If you must know Potter, I fell down some stairs in the Dungeons. Apparently there had been a leak that had quickly turned to ice. I suppose the House Elves don't bother cleaning the Dungeons that thoroughly," Draco hissed, turning his eyes away from Harry.

Harry watched him for a moment, then sighed. This would take longer if all they were going to do was argue.

"Right, well let's just get on with this, shall we?" Harry said, forcing his voice to be neutral, "Any ideas on what we should attempt?"

Draco didn't answer for a moment, but then he flicked his book open to a page with instructions on how to brew Polyjuice Potion.

"How about Polyjuice? Would come in pretty handy, and complicated though it is, I'm sure even you couldn't mess it up," Draco said, glancing up at Harry.

Harry just smirked at him, ignoring the dig. So, he wanted to brew Polyjuice Potion, did he?

"Sure, sounds simple enough to me. It's the start of the lunar cycle, so I guess we should start brewing this tomorrow in class. It'll take a month. I imagine Snape will let you have access to boomslang skin and lacewing flies." Harry said, his eyes fixed on Draco.

Draco's eyes widened a little in shock, but he soon let the Malfoy mask slide back over his face.

"I see the mudblood has been giving you tips," Draco sneered, his lip curling a little.

"You know what, Malfoy, just forget it." Harry snapped.

He wasn't about to sit there and let Draco insult Hermione. He didn't care if Snape gave him detention from walking out of their study session. He shoved his book under his arm and stood, shoving past the table. He was almost out of the small alcove, when he felt Draco's soft hand, grab his own calloused one. Draco tugged him back and forced him to turn around. Harry was suddenly aware of how close they were. He could see every one of Draco's blonde eyelashes. Harry felt his breath hitch a little as Draco's eyes flickered down to his lips. Then, without warning Draco let go of his hand and stepped away. Harry felt oddly cold.

"Don't leave Potter," Draco drawled, a strange glint in his eye.

Harry felt momentarily stunned. What the hell had just happened? He felt his stomach stirring strangely and he stumbled back over to the seat. He sat down, his eyes fixed on Draco. Draco leant toward him, soft shadows falling across his face. Harry's eyes wandered down to those luscious pink lips and his stomach did a small back flip.

"I'll behave, I promise," Draco purred, leaning toward Harry even more.

Harry didn't know what was happening, but he found himself leaning toward Draco. He couldn't take his eyes off his lips. Draco stopped about an inch from Harry, but before Harry could close the gap, Draco tugged Harry's Potions book out of hands and sat back in his seat. A small smirk played across his lips as he flipped Harry's book open to the potion.

"Here," He said, handing Harry the book back.

Harry felt his face flush red as he took the book back shakily. What the hell? He had been about to kiss Draco bloody Malfoy, Draco, of all bloody people! He leant back in his own chair and dropped his eyes to the book, starring at the page but not really seeing it.

"Alright, Potter?" Draco asked, his voice amused.

"Yeah," Harry said, gruffly, "So, Polyjuice, we're decided on that, right?"

"Yes Potter, and in answer to your question, Snape will let us have access to boomslang skin and lacewing flies. We can brew the potion tomorrow, and over the next month we will have to tend to it." Draco pulled out a sheet of parchment and quill. He began scribbling furiously and then looked over at Harry, again, "Snape wants the theory behind it, so we will have to meet regularly."

Harry blinked slowly, and said, "Yeah, sure Malfoy."

Draco smirked again, a knowing glint behind his eye.

"Now that's settled, I have somewhere far more pleasant to be," Draco drawled, and stood, again his movements stiff and slow.

Harry glanced up at him and frowned. He must really be in pain and those circles under his eyes weren't normal. Usually Draco was pristine. Harry stood as well, grabbing his book. He made to exit the alcove before Draco, but found himself stumbling over the chairs. His foot caught and he lurched forward, hands flinging out to grab the first thing in front of him. His book clattered to the floor as he slammed into Draco, grabbing his left wrist to steady himself. He felt Draco wince violently under him as they slammed into the bookcase behind him. Draco ripped his arm out of Harry's grip and tried to push Harry off of him, but groaned. Harry steadied himself by putting a hand on the shelf behind Draco's head.

"Ouch, sorry Malfoy," Harry mumbled, but didn't move away from the Slytherin.

"Potter, get off of me," Draco hissed, through gritted teeth.

Slowly, Harry backed away and gasped.

"Fuck, Malfoy, you're bleeding!" Harry said, his eyes finding the scarlet patch growing bigger on Draco's white shirt. He made to move forward, but Draco turned away from him, his hand coming up to hold his side.

"I'm fine, Potter," Draco hissed, "Piss off!"

Harry bit his lip and stepped toward Draco again. Draco glared at him, but couldn't back away as he was still leaning against the book shelf.

"Come on Malfoy, let's just take you to the Hospital Wing," Harry said, offering a hand out to help him.

"No, Potter!" Draco snapped, and he tried to squeeze past Harry, without much luck. He stumbled into the Gryffindor. Harry's arms immediately came up to catch the blonde, and he fell against Harry's chest.

"Potter, get off of me, I don't need to be groped by you," Draco sneered; it didn't sound very menacing, Harry thought.

"I'm not groping you Malfoy, I'm trying to help!" Harry protested.

"Well don't!" Draco snapped and managed to push Harry away. Draco wrapped his robes tightly around his body and left the alcove as quickly as he could.

Harry sighed and watched him go. He sunk back down onto one of the wooden chairs and stared at his hands. Why had Draco been bleeding so badly? Surely if he'd fallen down the stairs, Madame Pomfrey would've been able to heal him. He must have not had his wounds healed properly, but why? Maybe he'd been attacked? Harry snorted a little, even the idea of that sounded ridiculous, but he couldn't get the nagging feeling out of his head that all was not right.

Harry pushed himself out of the chair and made his way toward the exit. He hardly noticed where his feet were taking him as he wandered through the castle. Tonight had been strange, Draco had definitely been flirting with him, and Harry had liked it. He'd almost kissed him. Harry shook his head. Okay, so after the whole Cho fiasco, he knew that he'd gone off girls, but for him to like boys? No, of course he didn't! Especially not Draco Malfoy! No, Harry had just been caught up in the heat of the moment, and Draco was just playing with him. Harry bit his lip, willing himself to believe it.

Harry woke early again that morning. His dreams had been riddled with Sirius, Draco and blood. He rubbed his eyes tiredly and sighed. Why did his subconscious insist on keeping images he'd rather expel in his head? It'd been hard to make out the dream. He'd seen Sirius falling through the veil, but instead of disappearing he fell right through and upon landing, the cold dead form of Draco Malfoy had appeared instead of Sirius, drenched in blood. He rubbed his eyes again, grabbing his glasses, determined not to think about either subject.

The day passed in a blur for Harry. He'd tried to push Sirius and Draco from his mind, but to no avail. If he tried not thinking about Sirius, then his thoughts landed on blonde hair, silver eyes and full, pink lips, all dissolving into a whirl of blood. He sighed in frustration, what was wrong with him? He understood why he was thinking about Sirius, but this thing with Draco? It wasn't even a thing, it had been some strange game that Draco had played to try and make a fool out of him. And he certainly didn't care that Draco had decided not to get his wounds healed. Harry steeled himself with that thought as he trudged down to the dungeons behind Ron and Hermione, who had been casting worried glances in his direction all day. He hurried to catch them up and stood next to them as they waited to enter Snape's dungeon.

"Eurgh, what is that foul stench?" The shrill voice of Pansy Parkinson, shrieked.

"Mudbloods and blood traitors, I would imagine," Theodore Nott sneered, turning his dark eyes upon the Gryffindors.

Harry whipped around and saw the Slytherins sniggering. He glanced over at Draco, and realised with a jolt that he had kept his face straight. There was no sneer, just plain indifference. Harry frowned.

"How original?" Ron snapped, "Come up with that all by yourselves, did you?"

"What's up Weasel, did we insult your precious, filthy whore of a girlfriend?" Millicent Bullstrode cackled.

Hermione turned away from them and said, "Ignore them, Ron." She placed a hand on Ron's arm, hoping to stop him from advancing on the Slytherins.

"Oh, Draco, look! The mudblood does have some brains; stopping the Weasel from picking a fight he can't win," Pansy cooed at him, her hand snaking around his arm.

Harry watched as Draco rose an eyebrow, elegantly. His eyes flickered to Harry for the briefest of moments. He brushed Pansy off of himself, with a slight sneer and drawled, "I haven't got the time to be worrying about Mudbloods, Pansy." He pushed himself lightly off the wall he had been leaning on and entered the dungeons, as Snape had chosen that moment to open the door. Harry noticed, dully, that Draco's movements were no longer slow and stiff. Pansy looked flabbergasted and followed Draco in, shrieking at him to talk to her.

Harry felt shocked too, and by the look on everyone else's face, so were they. Draco had never passed up an opportunity to taunt Harry, Ron and Hermione.

"What was that about?" Ron asked, raising his eyebrows so high that they were in danger of joining his hairline.

Harry shrugged and said, "Fuck knows, maybe he's decided to grow up?"

Hermione looked at Harry strangely for a moment and bit her lip.

"What?" He asked her.

"Nothing Harry, come on," Hermione said, her voice a little strange.

Harry looked over at Ron to see if he had any idea about why Hermione was acting weirdly. The redhead just shrugged and followed Hermione into the dungeon. Harry's step faltered as he went to take his usual seat, before remembering the new seating arrangements. With a sigh, he made his way to the front of the class and sat beside Draco, who wasn't looking at him.

Harry opened his mouth to ask Draco what exactly was going on, when Snape banged the door shut with a flick of his wand. Harry reluctantly forced his eyes onto Snape, his chin resting on his hand.

"I assume that each pair has met since last lesson and decided what potion they will be brewing for their first assignment." Snape's silky voice drawled, "I expect each pair to write down the ingredients they will require and to explain to me the process in which they will be brewing their chosen potion. Once you have completed that task, you may begin brewing. I expect all of you to have started your potion by the end of the lesson. Begin!"

Harry turned to Draco and found that he had already gotten his parchment and quill out. His book lay open at the page that the Polyjuice potion was on.

"I'll be scribe, Potter, Merlin only knows how people can read your writing," Draco sneered, dipping the quill into the ink and scrawling a list of ingredients across the parchment.

Harry glared down at Draco's elegant script, but chose not to rise to the bait. Instead, he flicked open his own book and told Draco the ingredients and process of how to brew the potion, quietly. After half an hour, Snape began prowling through the students, hissing corrections at each pair, aside from Hermione and Pansy. He came to a stop in front of Draco and Harry, smirking nastily.

"Ahhh, Master Malfoy, Polyjuice potion? A little advanced for Mr Potter, wouldn't you say?" Snape drawled.

Harry glared up at the Potions Master and snapped, "Actually Professor, I know the process quite well." Harry's eyes challenged Snape, thinking back to his second year, when Snape had accused him of stealing from his private store.

Snape's lip curled and said, silkily, "Twenty points from Gryffindor for speaking out of turn."

Harry opened his mouth to protest, but felt a sharp pain in his foot. He realised that Draco had stamped on it. He turned to him, his green eyes narrowed.

"I think that Potter will be quite sufficient at this potion, sir." Draco drawled, lazily, "I'll make sure to speak slowly when explaining."

Snape pursed his lips and sighed, "Very well, Master Malfoy, on your head be it."

Snape swooped away from their desk, his robes billowing behind him like an overgrown bat. Harry rounded on Draco immediately.

"What the hell, Malfoy? That bloody well hurt," Harry hissed, under his breath.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Potter, but I thought that you might actually like to not get detention for once." Draco shot back, sarcastically, silver eyes turning to him.

Harry opened his mouth to respond, but found he had nothing to say, so he clamped it shut again. He turned away from the Slytherin and poked his wand grumpily at the cauldron, so that a fire started to kindle. He couldn't, for the life of him, work out the boy next to him. He was quite used to Draco being an insufferable, little git, but this knew Draco who took the high road, got him out of trouble and actually held a civil conversation with him was quite alien to him.

Draco stood and went to the store room to gather the ingredients they would need. Being Sixth Years meant they were allowed access to the advanced ingredients that were behind a small door at the back of the potions store. Harry watched Draco go, again noticing that he was moving with ease, unlike the night before. Once the blonde had returned and set about preparing the ingredients with his expert hands, Harry turned to him.

"I see you're feeling better," Harry whispered, softly.

Draco's hands stilled and for a moment, Harry thought he was going to get some biting comment from the Slytherin, but it never came.

"Yeah, I decided to take a trip to the hospital wing, after all," Draco breathed, his silver eyes darting around, making sure no one overhead what he was saying, "Thanks Potter."

Harry, who had been slicing the boomslang skin yelped a little as he sliced his finger. He'd lost concentration when Draco had thanked him. He dropped the knife and stuck his finger in his mouth, sucking the blood out of it. He glanced over at Draco, and was stunned to see that Draco's eyes were watching the finger in his mouth. Harry drew his finger out very slowly, then slid it back in, again slowly. Draco's eyes were still fixed on Harry's finger as drew it back out again. Harry smirked a little and flicked his tongue over the cut, watching Draco's eyes grow wide and finally turn away.

"See something you like, Malfoy?" Harry breathed, unsure why he was flirting with him. He told himself it was payback for the night before.

Draco's cheeks turned a light pink and without looking at Harry, mumbled, "Don't flatter yourself, Potter."

Harry leaned forward, on the premise of picking up the book that was in front of him and breathed, his lips brushing Draco's ear softly, "Don't delude yourself, Malfoy."

Harry heard Draco's breath hitch, but he leant away from him quickly. He stood and began adding ingredients to the cauldron. He forced his hands to remain steady. He didn't know what was happening, all he knew was that he enjoyed flirting with Draco. Maybe it was a power thing? Were they both trying to exert their own power over the other? Prove who was in control? Harry glanced at Draco, who had regained his composure and was giving Harry a strange, searching look. Harry frowned, this was too confusing.

"Let's just finish this potion, Potter," Draco mumbled, as he began helping Harry add ingredients to the potion.

They barely spoke for the rest of the lesson. Harry was pleased to see that their potion had turned the right colour. Draco was stirring clockwise, Harry was counting. Once he had stirred twenty-five times, Harry would drop in the lacewing flies. The Gryffindor counted twenty-three, and raised his hand to drop the flies in. Harry's hand brushed faintly against Draco's left arm, but Draco jumped as if he had been scalded. He knocked the cauldron over, which caused an explosion as the potion hit other ingredients that were on their table. Harry ducked, dragging Draco down by the waist as he did so. Harry felt potion splatter the back of his head and neck as he crashed to the floor, landing on top of Draco. The potion began to sizzle as it stung his skin. Harry groaned and glanced down at Draco, who was glaring at him. He had no potion on him, as Harry had covered him.

"Potter," Draco breathed, his lips dangerously close to Harry's, "Get off!"

Harry glared down at him, and rolled off, his hands gripping the back of his neck. Snape's livid face appeared over the top of their ruined table.

"Explain," Snape sneered.

Harry forced himself to his feet, ignoring the pain that was slowly creeping down his back. He noticed that the potion hadn't caused too much damage to the rest of the class, a few tables had moved, but everyone else seemed relatively unharmed.

"It was an accident," Harry ground out, through gritted teeth.

"Another 20 points from Gryffindor," Snape hissed.

Harry glared at him, the pain rapidly growing in intensity.

"I didn't say that it was my accident," Harry spat, glaring at Draco, who had gotten to his feet.

"Master Malfoy?" Snape said, his eyes glittering as he turned to the blonde.

Harry kept his eyes on Draco and watched as a moment of indecision flickered over his face.

"Potter nudged my arm by accident, sir," Draco said, his back straight, "And unless I'm much mistaken, by the stench of Potter's burning hair, he needs medical assistance."

Harry raised an eyebrow at him and turned to look at Snape. Snape's eyes seemed to bore into Draco's, searching for something. Harry noticed the small incline of his head and he turned to sneer at Harry.

"Off to the hospital wing, then Potter." Snape hissed, "And, I'll only take ten points from Gryffindor."

Harry stared at him in disbelief. Snape was releasing him from the lesson, without detention or having to clean up the mess that he didn't make, and only taking ten points.

"Has the potion addled your brain, Potter?" Snape snapped, "Go, now before I change my mind."

Harry nodded and quickly left the dungeon, casting Ron and Hermione surprised looks on the way out. Harry hurried to the hospital wing, the pain was starting to spread to his legs. Madame Pomfrey huffed disapprovingly as she healed the burns on Harry's neck, back and legs. The potion had trickled under his clothes, causing deep burns. He lay on his front as he waited for the wounds to fully heal. Pomfrey had assured him that there would be no trace of the burns in about two hours, until then, he had to lay still.

Harry closed his eyes as the potion Pomfrey had given him started to work on the burns. He felt as though they had been doused in a cool water and could feel a slight tingle as they started to heal. He lay still, enjoying the peace of the hospital wing. He had too many thoughts in his head, and most of them centred on Draco. He sighed a little, trying to understand what was happening between them. There was some kind of connection, Harry knew it had always been there, but for the past five years that had been fuelled by hate. Harry understood that, he even welcomed it, but this new connection they had was alien to him. He had never considered the fact that he could be attracted to boys, but he guessed it made sense. He hadn't had much luck with girls, and when he did, he didn't know how to act around them, but flirting with Draco had been easy. He sighed again, liking boys wasn't the problem, liking a certain boy was. If only Sirius were here, maybe he could talk to him about it, but Harry had no-one. He felt the familiar lump in his throat as he thought of his God Father, if only he were here, he'd know what to do!

The door of the hospital wing opened and closed softly. Soft footsteps jerked Harry from his thoughts and he opened his eyes. He turned and saw, with a slight jolt, that it was Draco. The Slytherin glanced around and drew the curtains around Harry's bed, then sat neatly in the wooden chair next to it.

"What do you want, Malfoy?" Harry hissed.

Draco raised an eyebrow, but managed to stop the sneer that had threatened to rise on his face.

"I'm sorry, Potter," Draco whispered, his silver eyes trained on Harry.

Harry felt his mouth open and his eyes grew wide.

"You're apologising?"

"Yeah, I can admit when I'm in the wrong, Potter, it's called maturity." Draco breathed, his hand subconsciously rubbing his left arm.

"Well, I'm glad you've grown up." Harry whispered back, a small smile forming on his lips.

"Potter, I…" Draco began, but closed his mouth and looked away.

"Yes, Malfoy?" Harry asked, smirking slightly.

"Nothing, see you around," Draco drawled, rising quickly and heading to the door.

Harry was about to call him back, but thought better of it. Whatever was going on between them had to stop. It was a dangerous game and one he couldn't afford to loose. He knew that Draco probably wasn't a Death Eater yet, but he planned to become one, and he was the Chosen One, no, some things are best left alone.

Harry sighed and closed his eyes, raking his fingers through his messy, brown hair. Why did things have to be so complicated? He just wanted Sirius back, he'd give anything, even his own life. It was with that thought that he drifted into an uneasy sleep.


End file.
